Battle Royale: 41 Reasons to Kill
by Musically Motivated
Summary: When a graduation trip goes tragically astray, the 42 seniors at St. John's High School are faced with a chance to prove they are the best, to prove that they may or may not be a killer. No one is guaranteed to live, every classmate is a reason to kill.
1. Class Roster: St John's High School

**St. John's High School, Class of 2008**

_Males_

Appleby, Joshua

Bradshire, Chris

Caldwell, Casey

Casco, Arik

Chamberlain, Mitchell

Christensen, Jason

Edgar, Alexx

Franks, Bobby

Gallo, Brett

Harrison, Tyler

Kendall, Parker

Maximillion, François

Nolen, Trevor

Powell, Arthur

Preston, Billy

Regis, Jeremy

Riley, Nathan

Trevings, Matthew

Valez, Rudy

Wyatt, Hayden

Zayas, Jack

_Females_

Andrews, Chloe

Bing, Rebecca

Binns, Janet

Cameron, Olivia

Jameson, Kelly

Johnson, Madison

Killian, Susan

Maya, Hellen

Mills, Meghan

Mitchell, Kristina

Nueva, Veronica

Nuñez, Amanda

Paulk, Lindsay

Remmington, Brittney

Reynolds, Samantha

Rodriguez, Daisy

Singleton, Vanessa

Sullivan, Dorothy

Sung, Karen

Swanson, Jordyn

Valenzuela, Lois


	2. Chapter 1: Pre Game

Chapter 1: Pre Game

**42 Students Remaining**

**1**

The bus moved its way towards the rows of towering buildings with brightly colored lights that made the nighttime look as if it were day. The relatively calm suburban setting that once surrounded the bus turned into city streets packed with traffic. The students could see the sidewalks were still jammed with pedestrians, which was unusual for this time of night. Businesspeople were busy chattering about which stocks were rising, and which were falling. Teenagers were busy sitting on the tables outside a local food joint smoking cigarettes. The digital temperature display on the large bank changed to 54° Fahrenheit. It was rather cool for a June evening, but the inside of the bus was at a very comfortable warm temperature. The time was 10:12, and everyone was still awake.

Parker Kendall (Male Student No. 11, Senior Class of 2008, St. John's High School; Los Santos, California) gazed outside, slouching low in his seat. His tan school uniform wrinkled, but he didn't really care. Next to Parker, was Tyler Harrison (Male Student No. 10), who was rummaging through his things. Parker looked up above him, there was a small television hanging from the roof; over the logo, there was a sticker with a gold star on a red and blue field (America's new insignia) that stated "Foreign Imports are Contraband". At this time, The American Federation had become an isolated state. The war with the Republic of Greater East Asia was at its peak; and goods from foreign countries were no longer accepted, which made simple things like coffee harder to find. Of course, there was the black market full of imports, but recent raids had slowed the market down; so consumers were forced to settle with American-made products.

The sticker probably meant the television was from "The Country formerly known as Japan", with a brand like Sanyo or Toshiba.

Parker turned around and eyed his forty-one classmates; the roof of the bus was illuminated by dull florescent lights. They would soon be graduating, and each one was excited and muttering about. About an hour had passed since they departed from their school in Los Santos, California. Getting to senior night at Six Flags seemed a little trivial, worse yet; they'd only have a few hours to spend in the park. But, this is what they got, and everyone was basically happy with it. I mean, what else can you expect from a private school?

There was a group of girls sitting in the back of the bus; they were Chloe Andrews (Female Student No. 1), the most popular girl in school with the blonde highlights; Olivia Cameron (Female Student No. 4), the short girl who was on the soccer team with Chloe; Jordyn Swanson (Female Student No. 20), the smart girl who still managed to fit in; and Samantha Reynolds (Female Student No. 15), the Class President who was actually really shy. These were the girls whose names were all over campus. They were the girls who talked about everyone, and the girls who everyone still managed to love. They were a cliché of preps, if you will. Of course, every school has its own clichés, but there was one that nobody really bothered with. They were the 'bad girls' led by Vanessa Singleton (Female Student No. 17). Daisy Rodriguez (Female Student No. 16) and Karen Sung (Female Student No. 19) were the others in that group.

A few seats behind Parker were Hayden Wyatt (Male Student No. 20) and Lindsay Paulk (Female Student No. 13). Hayden and Lindsay were probably the most serious couple in the Class of 2008. Parker remembered that they had been dating since freshman year. It looked like they were holding hands, and Lindsay looked like she was talking.

In the front of the bus, there was a really skinny kid with frizzy red hair and thick glasses. It could've only been Bobby Franks (Male Student No. 1), the kid everyone avoided, and the number one target of the bullies. His lanky body was scrunched up in the seat, and he was playing some sort of video game.

The jocks were sitting relatively close to the girls in the back. Chris Bradshire (Male Student No. 2), the new kid who joined the football team this year; Matthew Trevings (Male Student No. 18), the perverted kid who'd never really had a girlfriend; and Trevor Nolan (Male Student No. 13), who was captain of the football team and into Chloe Andrews. They were all sitting together, and Parker used to play football with them on the team until last year, when they only let "All-American" kids play football, and Parker refused to take the test that "tested how American you were". So, Parker had stopped hanging out with them because he was considered "unpatriotic" (the football guys were kind of uptight about that kind of stuff).

Patriotism was now more important than ever. Being "un-American" was considered derogatory. And anything that wasn't American-made was unpatriotic (there were of course, loopholes to that sort of thing, though; like fruit imports from Chile during the winter).

Two rows behind Parker was one of Parker's new friends, Alexx Edgar (Male Student No. 7). Alexx had blonde hair that was spiked uniquely, and a sharply defined face that looked like it was lightly covered with stubble right now. Alexx and Parker had become friends in their first year of high school; they were on the baseball team together. Alexx's talent on the field had made him really popular; and his intelligence could only by outwitted by a few. However, Alexx's arrogance made him the anti-student, and his knowledge of the real world and how things in life really worked was incredible. He'd always be smiling and crack a joke when the time was right, so he was just an all around good guy.

It looked like Alexx was sitting next to Jason Christensen (Male Student No. 6), that kid who was always telling jokes. Parker didn't talk to Jason much, but from what he could tell, he was a really nice kid.

Brett Gallo (Male Student No. 9) was sitting in front of them. He had a tall, muscular frame that looked too oversized for the seat. He was reading some sort of book. Brett studied Martial Arts before they were contraband (Martial Arts were considered a "product of the East"). Brett still managed to practice Martial Arts at home but, because he practiced such an "unpatriotic" activity, he seemed very intimidating. He didn't hang out with the other guys much, but he was actually a really nice kid. He seemed to have his face buried in a book.

Parker now realized that throughout high school, friends come and they go. That might even happen after graduation. Who knows, Parker could somehow lose contact with everyone, and somehow make a new set of friends, and repeat the process all over again.

Then again, maybe not.

"Um, Parker?" There was a voice. Parker looked to his left. It was Madison Johnson (Female Student No. 6). Madison was short and a bit petite, but rather pretty. Her brunette hair was neatly pulled back in a ponytail, and the front was worn down. She had big green eyes that seemed to say "Hello" when you looked into them.

"Yeah?" Parker replied, kind of stupidly. He wished he were a bit more articulate.

"Do you mind if we take a few pictures? I need some for the yearbook…" She asked, with a soft tone to her voice. Parker nodded, "Sure," Parker raised an eyebrow, and he didn't exactly recall Madison belonging to the yearbook staff.

Tyler suddenly jumped in, "Can I take some with you, Madison!?" He asked, sounding a bit desperate. Madison giggled, "Of course." Tyler made an effort to shove Parker out of the picture (no pun intended).

_Hey, watch it there, Casanova._ Parker thought to himself, mildly amused at how Madison was too naïve to figure out that Tyler had the biggest crush on her. Parker whispered into Tyler's ear, "For twenty bucks, I'll serenade her with my guitar."

Tyler turned a furious shade of red, which oddly complimented his child-like features. "Shut up, Parker!" He muttered through his teeth. Madison titled her head. Parker grinned, "Well Madison, Tyler and I were just discussing sex-"

"-tionals! Sectionals. You know, our tests coming up in choir? Have you been studying?" Tyler interrupted, his voice cracking like that of a boy entering puberty.

Madison raised an eyebrow, "…Yes, I have. But, I'm a soprano, so I just have the melody." Tyler shrugged, "Yeah. You have a really pretty voice." Madison smiled, "Thank you. You and Parker have really nice tenor voices, though." Parker chuckled, "Well, Tyler's right. You're a great soprano."

Madison blushed, "Thank you! You really think so!?" Parker nodded quickly, "Of course. I mean-" Parker suddenly felt a thud against his abdomen. Tyler had elbowed him discreetly. "What Parker _means_ to say is 'of course you're an excellent soprano, that's why you're the section leader'; duh." Tyler said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Oh…" Madison muttered, she then lifted up her camera. "Well, I suppose we should get around to taking those pictures." She said, rather meekly. Parker felt a bit of an odd air circulating around them. It was as if Tyler were the third wheel, instead of himself. He couldn't help but wonder where the feeling was coming from. He dismissed the thought, though, as the picture-taking ended and the bus began to grow silent, and still.

It was an eerie feeling. Parker looked around. Was it possible that he was the only one awake? He peered into the aisle, facing the back of the bus. They all seemed to be asleep. It was only 10:45, though. Why was everyone already asleep? Parker blinked, heavily. He shook his head, something wasn't right. The lights were beginning to dim, and…were they going the right way?

Parker sighed; he couldn't feel any emotions, not even panic. He tried desperately to figure out what was going on, but there was a certain numbness in his brain that prevented him from thinking properly. He stood up, wearily. Even though his thoughts were foggy, he could see Jack Zayas (Male Student No. 21) falling in the aisle. The driver was wearing a funny looking mask.

"Aw-shi-gen?" Parker managed to mutter to himself, which reverberated painfully in his brain. The speech he emitted caused him to plummet into his seat very suddenly, very heavily. His head began to sway as he lost focus. Parker, even in his right mind wouldn't have noticed that the bus had gone off route nearly twenty minutes ago, and that they were now reaching the docks near Long Beach. Parker didn't see the driver give a small sigh, as men in uniform and oxygen masks entered the bus, for Parker had since flown into a world of darkness, of imageless dreams and stars of black diamond.

**2**

_"You're going to find that life is actually pretty damn boring. Don't expect a world of whimsy and wonder. Don't even expect adventure; expect conformity and a day-to-day routine."_

Well, that's obviously gone to hell, hasn't it? Parker's eighth grade teacher, Mr. Whitmore had once said that him. Then again, Mr. Whitmore was extremely monotonous, so you could only expect that sort of speech from him.

_Wait a minute…where are we again?_ The world of darkness began to see a foggy gray cloud, and the center of the cloud began to show light. The unlit room became more and more visible to Parker. _What's this?_ Parker closed his eyes tightly; it felt as if he were awakening from a coma. He lifted his head, which was accompanied by a minor headache and nothing-but-white vision. The headache went away, and Parker could see again.

Wherever he was, it was cold, no, freezing. It felt like the air from his mouth was going to freeze and shatter loudly on the floor. He could feel his lips turning a pale shade of purple. Maybe he was just hallucinating. He brushed his hand through his hair, he was sweating. It couldn't be all that cold. There was, however, a tingle on his hands now. That tingle ran through his neck and straight down his spine, causing Parker to sit up suddenly. The tingle originated from a hard, cold object on his neck. What was it? It felt thick, and steel, it wouldn't come off. Was this some kind of necklace? Parker had to dismiss the thought, he heard silent whispering.

Had he gone insane? Was he beginning to hear voices? Parker couldn't make out any of the speech, but it sounded oddly familiar. _Parker. _He looked around. Where was it coming from?

"Parker?" It was Madison Johnson (Female Student No. 6) Parker could barely make out her facial features. He realized something: they were in a classroom, sitting in desks. Were they all in here?

"Madison?" He asked, "What's going on?" Madison shrugged, looking around. "I don't really know," she replied in a whisper "but it's two in the morning, shouldn't we have been there by now?"

Parker had a feeling they wouldn't be going to Six Flags anytime soon.

There was a sudden change in the mood of the dark room. Panic quickly spread like that of a plague, and the students grew worried and impatient.

"Where are we?"

"Do you remember driving here?"

"What time is it, shouldn't we be there already?"

"I want to go home…"

Parker tried desperately to remember how they could've ended up here; but for some ominous reason, he couldn't even remember getting off of the bus. Had they been…kidnapped? It was illogical, but it was the only real logical answer.

Then, he saw it. There was a thick, metallic band across Madison's neck. It shimmered, even in the darkness. It's presence brought nothing but utter fear to Parker. Madison spoke before he could.

"What's that on your neck?" She asked, pointing at his collar.

Parker shook his head, "I honestly have no idea. You've got one, too…" Parker looked around, "we all do."

As Parker's inhibitions slowly returned, he was blinded by a sudden change in the lighting. His eyes shut themselves quickly, he heard footsteps that reverberated loudly in the room. Perhaps it had been Parker's random coma-emerging that caused him to feel like he was having a hangover, though.

Parker opened his eyes, the light began changing colors and making shapes. They were in a classroom, with a T.V., and a desk and…a man standing right behind the desk. He was tall, with a muscular build. His blond hair was very neatly parted, and his eyes were behind thick glasses. He looked in his early fifties, and his skin had a smoky color to it.

"Hello." He said, simply. The room remained dead silent, the man inflicted fear in every single student present in the classroom. The man tilted his head, "Well?"

A few students muttered what might've been "hello", but no one truly spoke up, except for the man. "I'm Jerome Sampson; I'll be taking over your class for…a little while." Mr. Sampson wrote his name in big letters across the blackboard.

"Where are we?" The girl's voice quivered, she knew something was wrong. They all did. It was Meghan Mills (Female Student No. 9); her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail with a pink ribbon in it. Her green eyes were brimmed with tears, they seemed to shimmer, even in the dim lighting.

The man smiled, "That's a good question, Miss…Mills, is it?" Meghan nodded, slowly. "Well, you're about fifty miles off of the coast of Long Beach. It's a small residential island, not really named or anything."

An island? Why were they on an island? Parker's mind flooded with questions, and he filled with a chewed piece of gum under the desk.

Mr. Sampson drew a crude shaped diamond on it's side, then he drew a grid over it. He wrote letters on the X axis, and numbers on Y axis. Parker raised an eye brow he didn't see the purpose.

Mr. Sampson faced the classroom and grinned. "Congratulations, you've been chosen for this year's Program."

There was a terrified shriek from one of the girls.


End file.
